The iPad Is Already a Beloved Toy, Now Parents Can Embrace the Inevitable

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The iPad Is Already a Beloved Toy, Now Parents Can Embrace the Inevitable

Itsy Bitsy Spider, one of Duck Duck Moose's iPad apps.

Photo: Duck Duck Moose

Any parent with an iPad will tell you that the device has almost a relentless pull on kids. As soon as it enters their field of vision, they have to go play with it. With seemingly endless games and videos, today's iPads are my generation's Windows 95 PCs – sophisticated toys built for adults, but loved by children.

Knowing that hordes of impressionable, developing kids are begging their parents for some time on their iPads, Duck Duck Moose decided to develop educational games for iOS devices. That way, the little darlings might actually learn something when their parents finally relent to hand over their iPhones and iPads. It's been a huge success with children and their parents, and now that popularity has translated into a new round of VC funding for the company. Duck Duck Moose announced today it has raised $7 million from Lightspeed Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Stanford University.

It seems like money well invested. Soon after its first title, Wheels on the Bus, was released, it shot to the top of iTunes charts and has stayed high on the list of top apps in iTunes' Education category ever since. That's largely because Duck Duck Moose has meticulously combined child development principals and high-quality design to create games that resonate with the 10-and-under set. Its games have resonated with parents' groups and critics too, leading to 27 Children's Technology Review and Parents' Choice Foundation awards, and a “Best Children’s App” award at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show.

Duck Duck Moose now has 14 titles, all available on Apple's App Store, ranging in price from $.99 to $2. Each focuses on a specific subject, and all are carefully designed to make learning entertaining. Games like PuzzlePop and Baa Baa Black Sheep teach problem-solving with puzzles, Park Math uses playground equipment to teach math, and Itsy Bitsy Spider uses music and story telling to explain environmental issues. The apps feature original characters created by founders Caroline Hu Flexer, Nicci Gabriel, and Michael Flexer. All the music is composed specifically for the apps, and co-founder Michael Flexer even plays cello on many of the songs. The company says it has 2.4 million paid downloads as of September 2012.

With its new investment, Duck Duck Moose is hiring additional illustrators, animators, and engineers to beef up its offering of apps. Just as Hasbro and Fisher-Price have become the biggest names in physical toys, Duck Duck Moose wants to become the name for mobile kids toys and games. When kids start begging for the Duck Duck Moose instead of the iPad or iPhone, they'll be just about there.